*Typing*

Obsession fuels obsession.

Surround yourself with people who are obsessed. They don’t have to be obsessed with the same thing you are. Them simply being obsessed with something is enough.

If you’re an incredibly driven person, most people won’t understand you. This can feel isolating. It can leave you believing you need to apologize for who you are and how you are wired—don’t.

Humanity needs more obsessed people. We need people who are obsessed with healing, parenting, educating, learning, writing, building, creating, painting, etc. We need people who are willing to dedicate their lives—which is to say sacrificing their lives—obsessing over making something better.

Surround yourself with these people. Work alongside these people. Support these people. Encourage these people. Become one of these people.

Be obsessed.

David Lynch was notorious for pulling people off the street and making them actors.

There is a story I love of him driving home from a set one evening when he sees a woman standing on a sidewalk. He tells his driver to stop the car and asks his assistant to get out and get her number.

The assistant says, “What for?” Lynch responds, “I don’t know, just get her number.”

Several days later, they’re on set preparing to shoot a new scene when Lynch looks at his assistant and says, “Remember when I told you to get that woman’s telephone number? She’s in the next scene.”

This is how Lynch worked.

He built the plane as he flew it. It’s a devil-may-care sort of playfulness all of us can infuse in our lives and our work.

Finding your voice as a writer (or brand) requires you to try on a few for size.

It’s like buying a suit. You’d never purchase a suit without first slipping it on and doing a few turns in the mirror. Even then, you get it tailored.

Try on what Hemingway sounds like. Do the same with Baldwin, Didion, Woolf, Kerouac, Bourdain—god, I love Bourdain—Fitzgerald, Plath, Steinbeck, Babitz, Morrison and O’Conner. Try them all on. Be greedy.

When you’re first getting started, you will sound like a bad impersonator of these greats. Keep writing, though. Loosen the grip on the pen some. Inject your own beliefs. Your own style. Your own metaphors. Your own personality. Tailor the voice. With time, you will make the voice your own.

When you’re a young writer (or brand), you should always start by copying someone you admire. It’s too difficult to be original. Be patient. Write your heart out. Originality will come.

Side hustles are almost always a distraction from what you’re currently doing. If you’re wanting to earn additional income, the answer isn’t trying something new. It’s doubling down on what's already working.

It’s much harder to convince others to pay you to do something you’ve never done before than it is to pay you more for what you’re already known for.

With that said, I am a huge proponent of hobbies and passions. These are fundamentally different than side-hustles because they aren’t measured in money. They’re measured in enjoyment, expression and presence.

Something our work-centered culture struggles with is feeling like we must monetize and streamline our hobbies and passions. Hence the invention of the side hustle.

Keep your work your work. Keep your play your play. If you want to make more money, double down on your work. But, don’t let your work get in the way of your play.

Death by committee feels like that video of the raccoon falling into a chimp enclosure.

You walk into the proverbial boardroom with an idea you’ve fallen in love with, only to watch it get tossed around like a ragdoll.

For young creatives just starting out, this experience can be quite jarring. Unless you learn to separate yourself from your work, you won’t last long.

It’s not for everyone. Most creatives quit their gigs in advertising after two maybe three years. They find other mediums to be creative in. Mediums where they get the final cut, the final word, the final stay.

Unfortunately, if you want to work on large creative projects with big budgets, you can’t circumvent the committee. In advertising—and really any form of creation at the enterprise level—the committee is part of the process.

Be patient. Be resilient. Be thoughtful. Be mindful about what hills you should die on. Don’t be too proud to admit when you’ve got a bad idea. Don’t be too scared to fight for a good one. Most of all, learn to communicate your ideas effectively. Learn to sell them. Creatives who think they’re above selling have no business in business.

Love it or hate, the committee is part of the creative process.